The flame tetra (''Hyphessobrycon flammeus''), also known as the red tetra or Rio tetra, is a small freshwater fish of the

characin Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.; Buckup P.A.: "Relationshi ...

family

Characidae Characidae, the characids or characins is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is the historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their st ...

. This tetra was first introduced as

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

fish in 1920 by C. Bruening, Hamburg, Germany, and formally described in 1924 by Dr.

George S. Myers George Sprague Myers (February 2, 1905 – November 4, 1985) was an American ichthyologist who spent most of his career at Stanford University. He served as the editor of ''Stanford Ichthyological Bulletin'' as well as president of the American So ...

. Today large numbers are bred in captivity and it is common in the aquarium trade,Aquainfo
Breeding Hyphessobrycon flammeus.
Retrieved 21 March 2017. but the remaining wild population in Southeast Brazil is highly threatened.Carvalho, F.R., Jesus, G.C.d. & Langeani, F. (2014)
Redescription of ''Hyphessobrycon flammeus'' Myers, 1924 (Ostariophysi: Characidae), a threatened species from Brazil.
Neotropical Ichthyology, 12 (2): 247–256.SeriouslyFish
Hyphessobrycon flammeus.
Retrieved 21 March 2017. Cuba produced a

postal stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

with an image of ''H. flammeus'' in 1978.

Description

The flame tetra reaches about in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

. The rear half of the body is flame red while the area in front of the dorsal fin is silver crossed by two dark vertical bars. All the fins are red except for the pectoral fins, which are colourless. The tip of the anal fin on the male is black, while on the female the fins have less red colouration but darker tips of the pectoral fins.

Distribution, habitat and status

The flame tetra is native to Southeast Brazil, where it occurs in coastal parts of Rio de Janeiro ( Guanabara bay region, and

Paraíba do Sul The Paraíba do Sul (), or simply termed Paraíba, is a river in southeast Brazil. It flows west to northeast from its farthest source at the source of the river Paraitinga to the sea near Campos dos Goytacazes. The river receives its name when ...

and Guandu River basins) and São Paulo (upper Tietê River basin). It lives in rivers and streams, generally preferring shallow (less than deep), slow-flowing sections with vegetation and a water temperature from . The species has declined drastically, mainly because of habitat loss, pollution and introduced species (especially tilapia and black bass). Although sometimes reported as

extinct in the wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due ...

, wild populations survive. In its small remaining distribution, it is common in the Tietê River basin (which possibly is not natural, but introduced) and rare elsewhere. The last confirmed record from Rio de Janeiro is from 1992. The species is listed as endangered in the Brazilian national red list.Brazilian national red list of endangered species
/ref> Hyphessobrycon flammeus

Today large numbers are bred in captivity and it is common in the aquarium trade. This includes some selectively-bred forms (such as golden, orange and albino) that differ from the original wild form.

Aquarium keeping and captive breeding

''H. flammeus'' is a peaceful schooling fish, and will generally do well in groups. ''H. flammeus'' has an omnivorous diet. The species will breed in captivity.

References

* Géry, J. 1977. Characoids of the World. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., N.J. 672p.

External links

Flame tetra fact sheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q969545 Tetras Taxa named by George S. Myers Fish described in 1924